Kim Decker
▪    Grade I Para-Dressage
▪    Hometown: Centreville, VA
▪    Born: May 20, 1968
▪    Rode the Hanoverian Dasher’s Destiny owned by Paul Decker.

Decker suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury in an automobile accident in May of 1986 two weeks before her eighteenth birthday. She was comatose for more than three months after the accident.  After gaining consciousness she underwent years of speech, occupational, vocational, and physical therapy at various rehabilitation facilities in Virginia and Colorado.

Kim rode and showed in the hunter and jumper rings prior to her accident.  Throughout her many years of therapy one goal that always stayed with her was to once again become a competitive rider. In order to achieve this goal she rode with several therapeutic riding programs in Virginia and Colorado.
After twelve years of hard work, her goal became a reality in May of 1998 when she rode her first dressage competition at a Therapeutic Riding Association of Virginia show in Leesburg, VA. In 1999, Kim represented the American Competition Organization for Riders with Disabilities at Dressage at Saratoga, NY where she rode her musical freestyle demonstration.

In 2004 Kim was selected by the National Disability Sports Alliance – Equestrian to represent the United States at the 2004 Canadian Open International Dressage Competition for Riders with Disabilities. The competition took place in Ashburn, Ontario. Kim took third place in all of her classes.

All of these accomplishments were with her Anglo-Trakehner mare Minuet. Due to health concerns Minuet was retired in early 2007 to enjoy a life of love and grass.

Kim continues to compete in shows for Para-Equestrian and able bodied riders in Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and Illinois. In May of 2007, Kim found her current mount, a Hanoverian gelding, Dashers Destiny. Kim and Dasher had a wonderful competition year in 2007. As a result, Kim and Dasher were named to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Para-Equestrian Advanced Riders list for 2008 with a median score of 70.02% and qualified to compete at the 2008 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championships at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Illinois. At the championships, Kim and Dasher posted a three day average score of 61.137% which ranked her as the number one Grade 1A rider in the nation.

As the result of a great show year in 2008, Kim and Dasher maintained their position on the USEF Para-Equestrian Advanced Riders list (median score of 74.44%). In May 2009, Kim and Dasher competed at the Cavalor/USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship and CDI3*/CPEDI3*events at Lamplight Equestrian Center. Kim and Dasher had a great competition finishing in first place of the Grade 1 riders and sixth in the nation out of 16 riders from all grade levels.

In May 2010, Kim and Dasher competed at the Windreach Farm International CPEDI3* in Ashburn, Ontario, Canada where she obtained two more qualifying scores. She currently has four qualifying scores from two CPEDI3* events.
At the USEF Selection Trial/National Championship for the US Para-Equestrian Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Decker and Dashers Destiney finished the competition in an overall tenth place.
During 2007, 2008 and 2009, Kim and Dasher competed at 56 USEF/USDF licensed competitions and consistently received scores in the 60% and 70% range.

In November 2010, Kim celebrated 20 years living in her own apartment and working for the Federal Government. In addition to riding, she enjoys shopping, football, and antique cars.